What is Phrase and How Do I Use It?

Phrase is a CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) Tool uses in the translation industry. There are other translation tools available, but we have integrated Phrase into our systems due to the benefits we perceive it offers us and our clients in terms of efficiency and usability.

Phrase is an extensive tool with a ton of features, but here are the key steps to using it a Honyaku Cloud translator.

1. You don’t need to access Phrase from outside of Honyaku Cloud. We have added you as members of our team and we manage all the technical settings on our end.
2. When you have a “Current Job” on your Honyaku Cloud Dashboard:
   • Click on the Job.
   • Review any “Client Resources” for the job as appropriate.
   • Click on “Open Editor.” This is what sends you to the Phrase tool to begin the translation.
3. On the upper right of the Phrase screen, click the black button to “Accept” the job.

4. Understand the general layout of the main translation screen. There are a lot of buttons and menus on this page, but here are the main ones for you to look at:

   • The left column that includes the “Source” text.
     • This is the text that it’s your job to translate.
   • The right column where you will input the “Target” text.
     • This is your translation.
   • The small column containing a ✔️ or an ❌ to the right of the “Target” text column.
     • When you are satisfied with the text in the “Target” column, please mark this as ✔️. You will have to check off all segments before you can complete the job.
   • The “Preview” window under the “Source” and “Target” text columns.
     • This window shows you what the text might look like in context as a final product, which can be very helpful when you want to see where the paragraph breaks are, whether the text is a header, a caption, or part of the main body, and more.

   • The panel on the right side of the screen where all of our “smart” features live. This is arguably the most complicated part of the platform, but it contains all of the stuff that should help us create better translations faster.

     • CAT pane: Please check out the official Phrase documentation for a complete explanation of the information provided here, but the key abbreviations to know are:
       • MT: This the “Machine Translation” created by the system that can serve as a good starting point for the segment.
       • TB: This is an official term in the “Term Base” for this client. (If this is red and crossed out, it means the term is forbidden.
       • #: Text with a number shows that we have a (#)% match to this segment from something we already translated for the client. Is it a high percentage match from a recent translation? If so, we can likely use it again!
     • Search: You can search the term base and translation memory for specific words and phrases. Make sure you’ve got the correct language pair selected under the text box before you hit “Search.”
     • Changes: You can see the evolution of our translation through our workflow, from First Draft (T), to Proofread (PF), to Revision (RV).
     • Comments: This is where you will leave comments for your fellow translators and the Honyaku Team about specific segments, as well as read their feedback.
     
     
   • Question or comment about one word in one segment? Leave it in a comment.

   • Big question or comment about the overall job? Take it to Slack.

     
     

5. When you are satisfied with all of the text in the “Target” column, click the black “Complete” bubble on the upper right, which is in the same place as the initial “Accept” button.